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Letters amr No. )3,824, dated Apri? 1G, 1867.

MPROV'EMENT IN PERMUTATION LOOKS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Bc it known that I, GEORGE B. ATWOOD, of the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Combination Locks for safes, vaults, die.; and l do hereby declare' that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the' construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this speciiication, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of one or" the said improved locks, cut along the central line ofits spindle and knob.

Figures 2,13, 4, 5, plane viewsof its disk-tninblers detached.

Figure 6, an inside view of the lock, 'showing its bolt and com, with the operatingdisk of the latter, the back plate of the case and the disk-tumblers having been' removed therefrom for thepurpose3 and Figure 7, a representation of the upper side of the knob and indicating ring, as closed up against a. projection on the face side of the lock, together with ahorizontal section of the bolt and cani, with the operating disk of the latter on the spindle*- `Like letters of reference indicating,r the same parte when in the different figures. Y

The object of niyimproveinent is to produce .a combination lock thatwill not only be powder proof, (as boing without a key-hole or other opening) but* that n 'iil be more siinple in its construction and mode of operation, less liable to get out of order, and more certainly eiective against any successful manipulations of lockpickers or burglars. i

The nature of my invention consists substantially, as hereinafter described, in locking the spindle in a position disconnected from the bolt` and in ascertaining the extent of different rotary mot-ions required in the knob and spindle in unlocking` the lock by means ci' a lloose measuring ring on the knob.

In lthe drawings, A B is the case of the lock, C the knob, D the spindle, E El E2 the disk-tumblers, F the bolt, G the cam, H the actuating disk of the cam, and I theloose, ineasurinfcnor indicating ring on the knob.

The front or knob sides of the caso A B and the spindle il) arefmade'of undrillable steel. In iigs. 1 and 6 two external bolt-eyes are eepresented, whereby the lock may be bolted fast to the inner side of the door oi a safe or vault. The knob C is adjnstably iixodon the spindlei) by means of a screW-nut, c, and the spindle D is cylindrical and made so as `to fit `and rotate accurately `in the `case B, and is also enlarged sc :is to have the shoulders cZ il and cl2 cl2,- the `first, di to serve as Ya stop toV prevent undue longitudinal motion inward, and the latter, Z2 d2, as a bearing for the knob C, in fixing the lat-ter upon the spindle D. The measuring ring Iis suiliciontly loose around the enlarged ,part of the spindle D to be easily turned around thereon by ones finger while grasping the' knob in the hand, ano' lills the space which is allowed for it between the knob C and the projectin` portion al of the face-plate of the caso A. B, when the spindle is pushed in. (Seeiigs. l and 7.) lhe outer sido oi' the said ring` l is divided by transverse lines into numerous equa-l parts, and on one sido ofi the knob C a small dot, c2, is made, which can be brought; byrotating the knob, to be directly opposite to or any distance from a like dot, ft2, on the projcctinf" part ed or" the case A B. (See 7.) On the inner end of' the spindle l) the disk iii, which is about tivo inch s in diameter, and a quarter of an inch thick, more or less,.is iixed,by a. set-screw in its base. iig. l.) This disk hasA one-hall` the thickness of its edge cut anay from its inncr or front eide, :it e3, to the depth of a quarter of an inch, more or less, and has also a slot, c",aboutthrcc-eighths of an inchivide, more or less, out across in the remaining half ot' its edge to the saine depth as the recessl e3, and has also a small piu, eG, projecting about an eighth of an inch on its'inne'r side". (Sec figs. l and The second. disk E is'oi` the saine diameter and thickness as disk E, is recessed and slotted in the same manner; but iu thc side `which is in contact with the front side of E there is an annular groove, e, which receives the projecting pin di, and allows the latter to traverse the groove when either of the disks are turned around on the spindle. '.llie groove c'a has six, more or less, holes made through its bottoni, at equal distances apart'. and in one of these holes a pin, @his fixed, one end of which is even with the surface of thegrooved ,side oi` the disk, (see iig. and projects at its other end about one-eighth of an inch `from the opposite side of thel disk. (See The disk E2 is precisely likrA the disk El, excepting the holes in the groove of the former,

and thatits in e5. :in its oroove does not ro'cct on the omositc l ci.' the disk. (See iin. The cam.

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actuating disk H is about an inch in diameter, and is fixed on the spindle by' a sensoren, end-has a pin, if"

fas represented in the drawings. The disks EZI]1 `gea-ni in either case so l as to hold the bolt; and that, if` the knob be shown in figs. l'and 7, and then rotated, the spindle D will be locked in position by the projecting edges of the disks E E1 E2 entering and remaining between the projections of theblock K; and yet that'the' said spindle can one of the projectionsof` the block K thus carries thc'latter around on the spindle D; andthe tassi projecting from its front side about an eighth of an inch. The bolt F is slotted along in its middle so as t0 receive the disk H, and at the same time allow the bolt to be moved right and left, by the cam G, ifn'locking and unlocking it, (Sec figs. 1 and About one-half` of' the thickness of the bolt F is entirclyl'cut away from the front side, the length of the `slot, which receives the disk II, so as Ato form a recess for the reception and rotary motion of' the cani G, and through-a hole in thelatter the spindle D rotates; In the real-side of the cam G a hole, g, is made for the reception'of` the pin hief' the disk H, when the latter is pulled into the slot of the bolt F, as provided for in the arrangement of the several disks on the spindle, as follows: The cam Gr and bolt F are placed in position in the case A B, and then ,the spindle D, provided with its ring I and knob C, as described and shown, is inserted through a hole inA the face-plate of the case A B, and through the cam Gr and bolt F, and pushed back until the ring I comes in` Contact with the projection al; the disk H is then slipped over the spindle D until it reaches the rear side of` the bolt F, where it is then fixed by its set-screw, so that its pin h1 will be directly opposite to the corresponding hole'g1 in the cam G, the'bolt F being in the locked,position, E are now slipped over the spindle D in the order named, closed up together against the fixed disk H, and then the disk E fixed on the spindle by its set-screw. (See fig. 1.) K is a solidV piece of metal, fixed to the inner side or" the case, which has its free end slotted to correspond and interlap with the recessed peripheries of the disksl E El FH, as show-n in iig, 1. It will therefore be seen that when the slots c4 e4 e4 of the disks E El E2 are turned or moved so as to be direct-ly opposite to the projections o'n the fixed block K, the spindle D can be drawn outward, by pulling the knob C until the fast disk I-I comes into contact with the cam G, its pin i entering the hole-gl; and that, as the depth of' the slotfor the disk H in the bolt F equals the thickness 'of either of' the disks E El El, the recesses e3 c3 e3 of the said disks will have been moved forward and opposite to the next projections of` the said block K; and, therefore, that the spindle D can now bemoved ronnd,or rotated,so as to turn over the cam G, and thus unlock and. re -lock the bolt F alternately at pleasure, and that, when locked, thc said spindle D can be again pushed in and freely rotate-din either direction without moving either the said cam Gr or bolt F. In order to prevent the loose disks El'E2 from being carried around, simply by the friction of the moving spindle and disk E, a superior amount of friction is constantly produced upon them by means of a friction-block, L, supported and pressed against them by-a spring, Z1; and, to prevent the possibility of` forcing the bolt F back without rotatingzthe' cam Gr, as described, a stop-block, M, is xed to the case A B, directly beneath the cam G, so as to prevent any further motion of the said cam after the bolt has been either locked or unlocked.

Operation In the drawings, the bolt F is represented as thrown out to the right, or locked, and thepositions of the slots e4 e4 e4 of the disks E El E2, inrespect to the projections on the block K, such that the spindle D can be either rotated freely without moving the bolt F, or drawn forward through a space exactly equal to the'l thickness of' either of' the disks E a/s indicated by the faint lines in fig. 1, and thus simultaneously bringing the fiat disk H in-to the slot of the holt F and its pin L into the hole g1 ot' the cam G. It will therefore be seen that, by then rotating the knob C to the left, the bolt F will be easily withdrawn or unlocked, and that, by their rotating it in the opposite direction, the bolt will be as easily thrown out orme-locked,` the block M stopping the then pushed in again to its first position, as

be freely rotated in citherdirection by means of the knob C. In thislatter position of' the spindle it wili be almost impossible for any one tomove the bolt F without a knowledge of` the particular, selected, rotary motions required to be given to the knob C for the purpose; and, besides, these can be chosen or varied at the plea-sure oftlie proper person, by his simply loosening the knob by unscrewing the nut cl, and then turning the' knob around on the spindle to a new position, and again screwing np the nut el, the bolt being unlocked and the spindle drawn half way out, so as to prevent the latter from turning round while operating the nut. In the present instance the knob is fixed on the spindle so thatits dot cz is exactly four spaces of the measuring ring v I to the right-hand side of' the dot a2 on the projection a,(see fig`. 7,) when the slot e4 of the vfixed disk E has directly over or opposite to it. (See fig. Il.)A In rotating the knob C in either direction, the pin c of' the disk E comes into contact with the pin e7 in the groove e5 of the'diskE, and projecting end of the said pin, onthefront side of El, then comes in contact with the pin c in the groove e5 of disk E2, and thus carries the latter around also. This Operation is called winding up the lock. The pin in the groove er of thc disk E1 can be fixed in any one of the holes in its groove, in order to change the movements required to unlock the bolt; but the mode of changing', by turning the knob C around on the spindle D, by means of' the screw-nut ci, as described, affords more con! venienee and facility. 'Io unlock the lock, (the arrangement of` the disks and knob being as described,) the lock must first be wound up by rotating the knob C three or four times to the left, bringing the dot c2 exactly four spaces of the measuring ring and bringing its dot c24 exactly eight spa-ces of the ring I to the right of the dot a2, and then, finally, turning the knob around back again to the lef't, exactly f'our spaces of the ring I, as Shown in fig. 7'; the spindle can now be drawn forward, as indicated by the faint lines in iig. 1, and rotated so as to withdraw the bolt F as required.

'Ihe object in making the measuring ring loose on the knol), or thick part of the spindle, 1s to deceive orv embarrass a thief', as well as to enable the proper person in charge with instant facility to change the place of-` the indicating mark on the knob, and thus prevent the opening of the lock by any improper persod who may have obtained a knowledge of the selected spaces to be used for the purpose. The small dot c2 is intended t0 I to the left of the dot a2, then rotating the knob once around to the right, 1

621 824 o Y o be very small and shallow; a slight scratch made with a penknife point, so as to be almost unobservable, is

suiiieient to indicate to the person in charge how far in either direction the ringancl knob are to be moved around together from the dot a3 to open the lock. In the present instance, yafter winding up the look, the dat c" `must be moved. fou'r spaces to the left of clot ai, `then eight spaces to the right of a2, and finally four spaces to 'the left, before the spindle can be drawn outward. Now, to instantly change the whole combination of the spaces, all that is necessary is that the dot c2 be erased and a new indicating (lot or scratch be made at, say, one

or more spaces either to the right or left of the old one, and then allowing for the said added or subtracted'- spaces in moving the knob. rlhe improper person would now be baled in his efforts to open the lock by counting the spaces as before, beeause the new indicating point on the knob will not correspond with the old numbers of the selected spaces, and, the ring being,r loose and without any specific mark thereon, a person unaequainted with its use would probably not bc able to make any use of it alt all, although its loose condition would seem to him to involve the secret in some manner.

Having thus fully described my improved combination loek, what I claim as new therein of my'inventione` and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is confined to the following, viz:

l 1. I claim looking the spindle D in a position disconnected from the bolt F, by preventing longitudinal motion without preventing rotary motion in the said spindle, by means of the disks E E1 E2 and block K, constructed and arranged to operate together substantially in the manner described and set forth.

2. I claim the loose Ineasurin ring I, in combination with the knob C, arranged and operating together substantially as and for the purpose described.

, GEO. B. ATWOOD.

Witnesses:

BENJ. Morrison, WM. H. Momson. 

